The pilot who flew the drone, and who wanted to remain anonymous, told News10 he only wanted to capture video to document the fire, show evacuated community members the fire's progress and showcase the hard work of firefighters.

"The efforts of the firefighters, that our firefighters do, they put their lives on the line," he said.

"We had a bird strike a plane the other day and that plane had to be grounded and needed a little bit of maintenance," Oatman said, explaining that a drone could do significant damage to helicopters or airplanes fighting the fire, especially if it were to hit a rotor or propeller.

But drones are soon expected to become part of the arsenal used against fires.

Roberto Padilla with the Sacramento City Fire Department talks about how firefighters might use drones to help fight fires.
News10/KXTV

"They're gonna be a great tool. Firefighters themselves are actually starting to look at it," Oatman said.

As for the pilot, he said he gets it.

"I definitely don't want to hinder any efforts to put out the fires," he said.